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New Noise Limitation Scheme for Brussels Airport

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lay down EU-wide rules to facilitate the consistent introduction of operating restrictions at airport level in order to limit and reduce the number of people significantly affected by the harmful effects of aviation noise;

provide a framework which safeguards internal market requirements;

promote the development of airport capacity in harmony with the environment;

enable the identification of appropriate measures with the aim of achieving maximum environmental benefit in the most cost-effective manner.

New Limits

The directive was implemented in Belgium by the Royal Decree of September 25 2003, with the Ministerial Decree of May 3 2004 introducing provisions specific to Brussels National Airport.

The ministerial decree was modified on July 27 2009. The new decree aims to introduce limits that are stricter than those in force since 2004.

The 2004 decree set noise limits on the basis of movement of aircraft (under Articles 4 and 5) and according to season (under Article 6) - these remain unchanged. The limits are expressed in quota counts (QC) per aircraft movement. The quota is calculated on the basis of the noise generated by an aircraft, which depends on the type of aircraft and whether it is taking off or landing. Thus, every aircraft type has two QCs: one for take-off (QCD) and one for landing (QCA). For example, a Boeing 747-400 has a QCD of between 18.5 and 27.1 and a QCA of between 4.3 and 10.2.

Until July 27 2009 only two periods of activity were used to determine the QC allowed at Brussels National Airport: day and night. The airport's limits were set at 12QC at night and 24QC in the morning. Thus, a Boeing 747-400 was not allowed to take off at night, but was allowed to land.

The new decree sets different limits for take-off and landing and creates four time slots for:

night (between 11:00pm and 5:59am);

morning (between 6:00am and 6:59am);

day (between 7:00am and 8:59pm); and

evening (between 9:00pm and 10:59pm).

The take-off restrictions in Article 4 state that:

the QC at night is 8, but will remain at 12 for the remainder of 2009;

the 12QC limit will apply after 2009 to aircraft that operated at the airport during the year preceding the entry into force of the new decree (ie, between October 25 2008 and October 25 2009), for a maximum of 200 departures a year;

the morning QC is 12;

the daytime QC is 48; and

the evening QC is 24, although departures of up to 26QC are allowed, provided that they represent no more than 3% of the total annual departures from the airport in this time slot.

The landing restrictions in Article 5 state that:

the QC at night is 8, but will remain at 12 for the remainder of 2009;

aircraft with a QC of 12 will still be allowed to land, although the number of permitted landings will be reduced to 500 in 2010, 430 in 2011, 360 in 2012 and 300 a year thereafter;

the morning QC is 12;

the daytime QC is 24; and

the evening QC is 12.

Application

The new rules represent a significant restriction in comparison with the previous system. However, not all of them apply immediately, which allows airlines to adjust to the new system.

The new decree entered into force on October 25 2009. Nevertheless, Articles 4 and 5 of the decree provide that aircraft which have been operating at the airport since 2008 are exempt from the new daytime and evening restrictions for five years. The aim of this transitional rule is to allow airlines to modify their fleets gradually. Thus, the only rule change to take effect in 2009 is the morning reduction from 24QC to 12QC from October 25 2009. In 2010 the new limit for night services will be reduced from 12QC to 8QC. The full system of limits will apply to most aircraft by October 25 2014.

The materials contained on this website are for general information purposes only and are subject to the disclaimer.

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